Emma Willis is reportedly set to accept the Strictly Come Dancing hosting role, with Zoe Ball also tipped to join her as they replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on the BBC show.
Emma Willis is reportedly being lined up for the Strictly Come Dancing presenting position alongside another well-known personality.
Considerable conjecture has surrounded who might succeed Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on the BBC ballroom programme after they decided to depart from the show last year, reports the Mirror..
The BBC is understood to have auditioned numerous celebrities, and it has now been claimed that the broadcaster is poised to offer the position to Emma Willis, with Zoe Ball also tipped to assume the second presenting slot.
A source said: “Emma has been offered the Strictly job and is going to accept. She absolutely nailed the chemistry tests and the BBC adore her. Emma is a household name and a safe pair of hands so the BBC know she will do the job justice.
“She’s incredibly popular with the public too and will suit the role down to a tee. She was absolutely thrilled to have been offered the job. Strictly is one of the biggest shows on television and to be trusted with the new era is something Emma feels incredibly proud and humbled by.”
Zoe Ball is also expected to be invited to appear alongside Emma, replacing Tess and Claudia. The duo allegedly underwent a chemistry test together, as did other combinations including Alex Jones and Rylan Clark and Bradley Walsh and Rob Rinder.
“Emma is seen as the Tess of the duo. Her background in live – and occasionally tense – broadcasting situations means she can handle anything that is thrown at her,” a source told The Sun. “Zoe and her really clicked and it’s looking likely that Zoe will take on the role Claudia held in the auditorium with the celebs and the pro’s. The BBC are excited about how their new look Strictly is coming together and think the public will agree.”
The Mirror has approached BBC representatives for comment.
Both Emma and Zoe are prominent figures at the BBC, each presenting their own radio programmes with the corporation. Emma fronts her own Saturday afternoon programme on BBC Radio 2.
She’d previously expressed her affection for the BBC dancing programme. In 2021, when questioned about participating in the show, she said: “If I had time, I would do it in a heartbeat. Like I absolutely love it.”
Back in September, Tess and Claudia revealed they were stepping down from the programme following the conclusion of that series.
They stated: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time.
“We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show,” adding: “They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day. We will cry when we say the last “keep dancing” but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”
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